PREVIEW – Warriors battle Hitmen in Sunday matinee
LAST GAME… Rilen Kovacevic scored his first WHL hat-trick on Tuesday to lead the Warriors to a 7-4 win over the Swift Current Broncos at the Moose Jaw Events Centre. Pavel McKenzie had two goals and three points, Aiden Ziprick had a goal and three points, Connor Schmidt scored one goal, Brayden Yager had four assists, and Max Finley picked up two assists. Moose Jaw was 1-for-3 on the power play and 4-for-4 on the penalty kill.
Brown joins Warriors… 18-year-old forward Casey Brown has joined the Warriors for the remainder of the season. The Regina product started the season with the Penticton Vees (BCHL) and had two goals and five points in 18 games. Last season with the Regina Pat Canadians (SMAAAHLU18), Brown had 33 goals, 23 assists, and 56 points in 44 games.
Opposition Preview… The Calgary Hitmen come into today with a record of 12-8-3-1, they are coming off a 7-3 loss last night in Medicine Hat. Ben Kindel leads the Hitmen with 15 goals and 33 points, Oliver Tulk has 21 assists and 32 points, and Carter Yakemchuk has 23 points.
Familiar Face… Tonight marks the first time that Kalem Parker will play his former team. The Clavet, Saskatchewan product was acquired by the Warriors last season from Victoria, he went on to play 82 games in Moose Jaw and had nine goals, 45 assists, and 54 points. In the 2024 WHL Playoffs, Parker had two goals and nine points and was a key member of the organization’s championship team.
2023 – 2024 vs. Calgary… This is the first of four meetings this season between the Warriors and Hitmen. Last season, Moose Jaw was 2-2 against Calgary, they were 1-1 at home and 1-1 on the road. Moose Jaw outscored Calgary 6-4 on the road and 14-12 overall. The Warriors were 4-for-13 on the power play (30.8%) and allowed two goals on 12 penalty kills (83.3%).
Jagger Firkus led the Warriors with five assists and six points against the Hitmen, Atley Calvert and Denton Mateychuk had one goal and five points each, Brayden Yager had three goals and four points, Lyden Lakovic had two goals and four points, and Rilen Kovacevic and Brayden Schuurman had two goals and three points each. Jackson Unger was 1-2 with a 3.06gaa and a .923sv% and Evan May was 1-0 with a 2.00gaa and a .946sv%.
Keets Fawcett led the Hitmen with four assists and five points against the Warriors, Oliver Tulk had two goals and four points, Ethan Moore had one goal and four points, Ben Kindel and Chase Valliant had one goal and three points each, Carson Wetsch had two goals, and Maxim Muranov had one goal and two points. Alex Garrett was 1-1 with a 3.43gaa and a .889sv% and Ethan Buenaventura was 1-1 with a 3.60gaa and an .895sv%.
Yager Bomb… Brayden Yager has 115 goals, 165 assists, and 280 points in 231 regular season games and sits tied with Jayden Halbgewachs for 5th on the team’s all-time scoring list, Jagger Firkus is 4th (310). His 115 goals rank 7th on the team’s all-time list, he is three behind Chris Schmidt for 6th (118).
Unger climbing all-time list… 19-year-old goalie Jackson Unger currently sits 7th on the team’s all-time goalie list in games played with 125, he sits seven games back of Jason Fitzsimmons and Justin Paulic for 5th (132). Unger’s 62 wins are tied with Brody Willms for 3rd in franchise history, and Zach Sawchenko is 2nd with 88.
O’Leary moving up… Mark O’Leary is entering his fourth full season as the Warriors Head Coach. O’Leary took over the reins in January 2020, in 304 games on the bench he has a record of 157-120-15-11. He is third in games coached in franchise history; Tim Hunter is second with 356. His 157 wins rank second on the team’s all-time list.
NHL Players to Watch… Warriors Connor Schmidt and Lynden Lakovic were two of the 55 WHL players named to the NHL Central Scouting Preliminary Players to Watch list for the 2025 NHL Entry Draft. Lakovic received an “A” rating while Schmidt received a “W” rating.
| TEAM LEADERS | 2024 – 2025 REGULAR SEASON | |
| GOALS | 13 | Rilen Kovacevic |
| ASSISTS | 19 | Brayden Yager |
| POINTS | 30 | Brayden Yager |
| PENALTY MINUTES | 33 | Brady Ness |
| POWER PLAY GOALS | 4 | Brayden Yager |
| SHORTHANDED GOALS | 2 | Rilen Kovacevic |
| GAME-WINNING GOALS | 3 | Lynden Lakovic |
Streaking
- Connor Schmidt has 2-0-2pts in the last two games
- Ethan Semeniuk has 2-4-6pts in his last six games
- Lynden Lakovic is on a 6-game point streak (5-3-8pts)
- Pavel McKenzie has 2-3-5pts in the last two games
- Aiden Ziprick has 1-2-3pts in the last two games
- Ethan Hughes has 2-2-4pts in the last seven games
- Brayden Yager has 3-9-12pts in the last seven games
- Rilen Kovacevic is on a 4-game goal and point streak (7-1-8pts)
Milestone Watch
- Deegan Kinniburgh is four games back of 100 for his career
Last 5 Games
| DATE | OPPONENT | RESULT | GF | GA | SF | SA | PPG | OPP | PPGA | PK |
| 12-Nov-24 | vs. Swift Current | SOL | 3 | 4 | 28 | 46 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 13-Nov-24 | @ Swift Current | OTL | 4 | 5 | 37 | 36 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 21-Nov-24 | vs. Saskatoon | W | 4 | 0 | 33 | 32 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 23-Nov-24 | vs. Tri-City | L | 5 | 7 | 33 | 42 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 26-Nov-24 | vs. Swift Current | W | 7 | 4 | 39 | 35 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| TOTAL | 23 | 20 | 170 | 191 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 12 | ||
| AVERAGE | 4.6 | 4.0 | 34.0 | 38.2 | PP | 25.0% | PK | 91.7% | ||
